14 Mar BY DAY 5 Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways: Provide at least two additional suggestions (beyond those provided in your colleague’s pos

Benjamin Werner

YesterdayMar 13 at 3:01pm

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MOD1 Week 2 Discussion Post

When it came to this week’s discussion, I picked Germany and the US to compare, the topics I want to focus on in this week’s post is individualism, motivation toward success, and indulgence. 

When it comes to Germany, they score really high when it comes to individualism at a 79, their culture revolves around “being honest, even when it hurts” is a direct quote from the website and success and determination revolves around self-actualization or the idea that if you can put your mind to it you can figure it out.  When it comes how to this would play out with communication, I feel sometimes it can come off a bit crass if someone is very direct at least from our cultural perspective, however sometimes honesty is the best policy and saying something direct can really guide a conversation especially when it comes to someone’s growth not only a personal level but on a professional level as well.  When it comes to my leadership, I tend to lean toward 3 positives to 1 negative comments, sometimes when we focus primarily on the bad it reflects in that person’s value of their work and how they perform, however if you can point out some of the things they are doing right at the same time, it helps ease into the conversation a lot easier and turns it more into a “we appreciate that you do XYZ, however if you could implement this, this could give you better results.”  

America also has a moderately high level at 60 on individualism, however the description of this characteristic mostly focuses on how “equality” is a focus in American culture which I don’t necessarily agree with, not because it isn’t an idea we base opinions on but because of how we execute “equality” in our country on a fundamental level.  Coming from a background in public health, I don’t see the equality in our culture because even just how we communicate about issues such as same sex marriage, racial inequality, or the idea that Black Lives Matter is somehow “controversial” or “radical” and those things should just be fundamentally accepted, however we are so polarized as a country that I don’t see us communicating effectively as a whole.  How this translates into a workplace environment is also very different, some ideas have been implemented to create an idea that there is equality around us, however social identities and even pronouns can be used against us in the workplace or even getting a job.  Socioeconomic circumstances such as homelessness are held over our heads in America to “fall in line and do what you’re told”, so in a lot of ways I am very surprised at how high this score is, as well as the description that went along with it.  Being an individual in American culture is not celebrated unless you can achieve success or make millions doing it, and this heavily reflects in our communication and the world around us. 

Moving into motivation toward success where both countries scored high, in both cultures being able to show how successful you are seemed to take precedence in one way or another, in Germany it focuses primarily on showing high class items such as a nice care, a nice watch, or other high-end item.  In American our focus somewhat shifts toward talking about our success and being able to show how we we’re successful but can also reflect in what we buy and how we look as well.  When it comes to a reflection in American culture we tend to brag about our achievements because it feels good to talk about how well you did at something however some people can take this as arrogance and could reflect poorly on the situation or circumstance. 

The last thing I want to talk about is indulgence.  This to me was the most interesting because Germany has a low score, and America has a high score which contrasts well with both countries.  Germany focuses primarily on doing well and living frugally whereas in America we have the motto “work hard, play hard”.  These two ideas can clash when it comes to communication and cultural relevance because the idea that you should be able to work as hard as you want to, and it’s frowned upon to live frivolously is heavily reflected in Germany’s culture.  In America, we are a country that lives frivolously as much as we can, it reflects in our food, how we talk, and what we buy; in America we all want the biggest TV, we used to have the super-size at McDonalds, everything in our culture is the bigger the better.  Being able to dial back and be humble is something not everyone is good at, even empathy in American culture can be rare as I pointed out in the first part of this discussion post, but both of those can be a necessity in talking to people in other cultures. 

Jose Corado

YesterdayMar 13 at 4:04pm

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I have selected Austria and Azerbaijan for comparison of the cultural differences. The three specific insights are as follows:

Power Distance: Austria has an 11 score compared to Azerbaijan's 85 one. The difference is broad, 74 points between these 2 nations. A hierarchical order is prevalent and is accepted by people from Azerbaijan and that implies that everyone should have a place in society. Unlike Austria, hierarchy is for convenience only. In other words, when managers-employee relations are compared, Austria's score indicated that managers rely on their team's expertise. Moreover, the gap score number between the 2 nations indicates that the less represented in society have to endure however power is distributed–even if it in unfairly distributed. 

Individualism: I must be honest to say that Azerbaijan's 28 score does not surprise me because I have seen it as a more conservative nation. Although Austria's 77 shows a high individualism score, it should be noted that an offense causes guilt and loss of self-esteem. Based on my analysis, in an employment area, individuals feel guilty about their own actions. In contrast, in Azerbaijan an offense leads to shame. However, the difference is that it is a more conservative society and that means if an individual does not want to take care of an immediate relative this will offend his/her family. Definitely, in more conservative societies–family have stronger relations. 

Long-term Orientation:  This score is a little surprising. It could be said that Austria is in the middle with a 47 number, while Azerbaijan's 59 indicates a higher tendency toward achievement. That means that a more pragmatic society emphasizes on higher education to achieve and prepare for e better life. Although Austria is not a superpower like United Kingdom. Germany or the USA, it has a very stable economy, and surely an individual with no college degree has opportunity to find a stable employment–compared to someone with no superior education in Azerbaijan. 

When it comes to communication, it can be challenging to say how effective or difficult could be. In terms of linguistic, Azerbaijani is spoken in Azerbaijan and German in Austria as this nation was part of Germany in the past. In terms of how effective/difficult communication can be between individuals of these countries, Austria is very similar to Germany where order and time are a plus. Azerbaijan is rich in culture and traditions, it can be seen as a multicultural one as other languages and dialects are spoken in the nation. Based on these observations, I believe that Azerbaijan is open to embracing other cultural influences while preserving theirs.